Quick facts

About Marathon des Sables

The Sahara is the world’s largest hot desert and one of the harshest environments on the planet. It is third largest desert overall after Antarctica and the Arctic, which are cold deserts.

Travelling in the Sahara Desert requires a major shift in perspective. The landscape is so vast that it’s impossible to judge distance. The colour palette – a thousand shades of greige – makes it hard to discern specific forms, and the intense sunlight reflecting off the sand tricks the eye into seeing things that don’t exist.

AN EXTRAORDINARY RACE ! FOR EXTRAORDINARY PEOPLE! IN AN EXTRAORDINARY PLACE!!

The Marathon Des Stables is a gruelling multi-stage adventure through a formidable landscape in one of the world’s most inhospitable climates – the Sahara desert. The rules require you to be self-sufficient, to carry with you on your back everything except water that you need to survive. You are given a place in a tent to sleep at night, but any other equipment and food must be carried.

Distances

Marathon des Sables

Practicalities

Participants will camp under Berber tents. Hotel accommodation after the event which i included in the entry fee.

Aid Stations

Aid stations every five to ten miles and offer nothing more than bottled water.

Award Medals

Medal & t-shirt for those that complete the course.

Refreshments

Meals before and after the event.

Transport

Transport buses available to take participants to the starting-line.

Marathon des Sables Route Map

Start:

The Sahara Desert

Ouarzazate,ma

Overview

The MdS is a multi-day ‘ultra-marathon’ or ‘ultra’ run in six days over a course of between 150 and 156 (254km) miles. Which by the way is the equivalent of Running from London to Dover deciding not to go to France after all and running back again in 120 degree heat. with a backpack on and voices in your head talking about cold beer!

As an example of what lies beyond the starting line, the longest single stage in 2012 was 51 miles (81.5km). Typical distances are 156 miles (251 km) broken down as follows:

DAY 1: 33.8KM

DAY 2: 38.5KM

DAY 3: 35.0KM

DAY 4: 81.5KM

DAY 5: 42.2KM

DAY 6: 15.5KM

The actual routes and formats change every year. The Race Director and his team spend a month meticulously planning routes that are held secret until the day before the event starts. There is a rest day after the longest stage, but it may well take you into that day before you get to the finish. Competitors stay overnight in a bivouac village, comprised of tents that sleep about 8 competitors per tent. Once you get your ‘bivvy’ your bivvy team become your family, your support team, your nursing team and invariably they become long-term friends. The most memorable sound of an evening is the rumble of weary laughter that echoes around the village.

Marathon des Sables Trivia

The Marathon des Sables is ranked by the Discovery Channel as the toughest footrace on earth.

The Sahara is the largest hot desert in the world, and the world's third largest desert after Antarctica and the Arctic.

The race information has been found on the official website of the event or through publicly available sources. Always refer to the official website the latest race information. Please let us know if any data is wrong or missing, by emailing us.